Washington Post wrongly fired columnist over Charlie Kirk posts, arbitrator finds

An independent arbitrator on Thursday ordered The Washington Post to rehire a columnist after she was fired over posts about Turning Point USA’s founder, Charlie Kirk. The arbitrator ruled that the publication wrongly terminated Karen Attiah last year, arguing that it did not have sufficient cause to fire her. Her posts did not disparage any group based on race or gender, the order said. The arbitrator said The Post must reinstate Attiah with back pay and lost benefits.

What did Attiah post? Following the assassination of Kirk in September 2025, Attiah published a series of posts about the conservative activist. In one, she suggested that Kirk espoused hatred and violence, while in another she said she refused to performatively mourn a man like him. She did not identify Kirk by name.

Shortly after, The Post fired her for violating its social media policies, according to a copy of her termination letter cited in the ruling. She harmed the integrity of the company and potentially endangered the physical safety of its staff, the letter said. It added that her termination came amid a backdrop of performance concerns. She wrote in a Substack post at the time that she was fired without any conversation.

How has Attiah reacted to the order? The decision demonstrated that she was simply doing her job as an opinion journalist, she said in a statement. Journalists can’t work at an organization where they fear being arbitrarily fired for doing their jobs, said Natalie Vineberg, chairwoman of The Post News Guild, in a statement. For Attiah, her job was writing her opinion, Vineberg added.

A Post spokesperson said the publication respected the arbitration process, according to Axios. WORLD reached out to The Post for further comment but did not immediately hear back.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report on the hearing of the 23-year-old charged with Kirk’s murder.